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My picture taking skillz are teh suck, but...
Here's a pic of the slight finish bleed on the bindingAnd a pic of the small quot;dotquot; on the headstockAnd a pic of the Baseball Bat neck Mmmmmmm. I love plain top's. Oh and ditch the pickgaurd :fing25:

I was gonna say that. Ditch the pickguard indeed.

I really like the grain on the top, it's really characterful.

That's gorgeous. Simplicity=beauty for a guitar IMO.

Bro, that is beautiful. I have to go against what everyone else has said and stick with your traditional taste, keep the guard. If it was a bookmatched flame or quilt top, then I'd lose the guard but with a plain top, keep it. It's very classy looking. The neck on that thing is just how I like 'em. How's she sound? I bet it sustains for days.


Originally Posted by ErikHBro, that is beautiful. I have to go against what everyone else has said and stick with your traditional taste, keep the guard. If it was a bookmatched flame or quilt top, then I'd lose the guard but with a plain top, keep it. It's very classy looking. The neck on that thing is just how I like 'em. How's she sound? I bet it sustains for days.

Oh yeah..guard stays..not a fan of them without..plaintop or not..here's a Camp;P of some of what I posted last night

Uhm. Yeah.

This Paula is the $hit.

Apparently this quot;finish migrationquot; is somewhat normal. There's even a hangtag type thing in the historic goodie bag that says as much. Christian said the same thing to me in a PM as well. Apparently it gets worse for a bit then goes away. I was never aware of this.

Honestly DONquot;T FRIGGIN CARE

The little thing at the headstock just looks like a teeny little spot where the black of the stock didn't go all the way flush with the nut, its about the size of a ball point pen mark . Yes I'm being picky, only cos I got spoiled with the Hamer!

The rest of the binding is fantabulous. The neck binding, and the body binding is just as nice as the Hamer. The fretwork is excellent (apparently Gibson Custom shop got themselves a quot;plekquot; machine and this is supposed to help? I don' know). Regardless, it's awesome. inlays, controls, etc..all great ( tone and vol pots that are like the Hamer and actually work! Though the taper is a little odd).Plays like butter, but its not so easy It feels sloppy. I'm diggin the big fat neck. The only time I notice the difference is playing some open chords, or right at the heel, cos the transition is not as pronounced compared the faded.

The BurstBucker 1/2 are very nice too. I don't see how anyone who likes a off balance wind PAF could not like these things. They are Alnico II and not as tight or agressive as the BB pros, but they still are pretty quot;hotquot; sounding. Hotter than the 59s, not as smooth or bright, but a nice balance between the 59s and BB pros. I had to back off the gain a bit since they aren't as tight as A5, but the inherent tone and sustain just makes the guitar sing...don't feel like I NEED as much gain. BTW, my Faded has damn good sustain, and this R8 has noticeably more. pinch harmonics are really easy on it too I've noticed. In fact the dynamics period are just great...very responsive even through the POD XTL. Very quot;woodyquot;, and cello-like.

Tons of low end/low mids typical of a good Paula. Super Chunky. With a good distortion pickup this thing would be a helluva modern metal guitar. Stock, it's Paul Kossof, Gary Moore (in fact sounds alot like Gary's 59), Billy Gibbons type tone with the A2s.

Very impressive. I guess it's a little sad that you gotta go Custom shop to get a Les Paul thats built and sounds like a Les Paul should, but initially I can't say it's not worth it. In fact, with the recent price increase of Standards up into the $2300 range, IMO unless you gotta have flame or a small neck, I don't see why anyone should by a production Standard these days. My Classic, my CSB Std, and black STD, were all built about as well (fret/binding work wasn't quite as nice on those, but still very good) but tone/sustain wise, no comparison.
So.....is she a keeper?

Jeff...I LOVE IT!

Congrads bro...play it for a long time!

Nice guitar- keep the guard, fade some of the red and play it hard!

Pretty sweet man. congrats

Thank You all

Yeah, I pretty much think she's a keeper, but I wanna give it some more time before I decide yea or nay. I'll say this....When I plug in the Hamer I'm always fooling...tweaking...diff speaker cabs, different settings, etc etc. This thing I just plug in and BAM..righteous tone is there..even if it's not exactly what I'm looking for I still LOVE whatever sound it puts out! Inspring tone I guess you could say. I'm playing stuff I never play and ENJOYING it..blues/classic rock, etc.

P.S. I'm diggin the small frets. I thought they would be an issue, but they feel great.

New Stuff Rocks!!!


Originally Posted by JeffBP.S. I'm diggin the small frets. I thought they would be an issue, but they feel great.When I was LP shopping I passed on a killer looking R9 with an amazing top at a killer price because I prefer the pre59 style (MJ) frets...

very nice 'burst, and I always like straight grain on the backs

if I were to get another LP, it would likely be an R8 ... as you know, both Warren Haynes and Mark Knopfler have said their favorite LPs are '58 RIs

Very nice LP Jeff...Love the way the grain runs along the top....

I couldn't read the serial number. New one? BB 1 and 2? They sound pretty decent for stock pups.

My R8 has binding bleed up near the nut. I couldn't care a less. No one that's ever played it has ever noticed.

If it's got the tone, you're done. Worrying about a coupld of small niggles in a very much hand finished guitar is just crazy. Guess what? They are copies of the late 50's Les Pauls, niggles and all!

Put some Tone Pros locking studs and a Tone Pros bridge on that puppy. Top wrap the tail piece and get those bends happening. You'll thank me later.


Originally Posted by Scott_FMy R8 has binding bleed up near the nut. I couldn't care a less.

I can't believe that when you're paying thousands of dollars for an instrument, you demand anything less than perfection. Especially when Korean based companies like Schecter can turn out stuff for WAY under a grand without any finish flaws.

the mix of the period correct binding, period correct red and the peroid correct clean coat the binding turns pink...it's no big deal.

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!! i bet it sounds killer . between that and the hamer you got it covered.